Angels on Horseback and elsewhere by Norman Thelwell

£12.99

Thelwell, Norman

20/04/2017
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Hardback
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ISBN: 9780413777997

About
Angels on Horseback and elsewhere by Norman Thelwell

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the first publication of

Angels on Horseback and elsewhere

Thelwell really understood the English countryside, its animals and people, and appraised with sympathetic eye both horses and the horsey. That is why his drawings adorn the studies of some of the finest equestrians in the country as well as being sure pin-up material in many Pony Club Members' dens. The angels in Angels on Horseback are children, but there is plenty here about their parents. Both for readers of Punch who knew Thelwell, and those who did not meet him before, this book is a savoury at all times - but especially after attending a gymkhana. J. B. Boothroyd writes in the Foreword: 'Punch has had equestrian artists before. In mid-Victorian times it was difficult to open a copy without being trampled. But the creations between the present covers achieve something entirely new: they combine portraiture with caricature, a thing which most artists would hesitate to try with human beings, let alone the more temperamentally elusive and psychologically inscrutable horse. This means that while no horse could possibly look exactly like a Thelwell horse, all Thelwell horses manage to look exactly like horses.'

Author(s)

Norman Thelwell

Norman Thelwell (1923–2004) was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire. He was educated locally at Rock Ferry High School. During the Second World War, he served in India with the East Yorkshire Regiment, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (1942–46). While art editor of an army publication, he had his first cartoons published in London Opinion. After the war, he studied at Liverpool School of Art (1947–50) and lectured on illustration at Wolverhampton College of Art (1950–57). He sold his first drawing to Punch in 1950, and two years later became an important regular contributor. He also worked as a cartoonist for several newspapers and began to produce his own comic books, beginning in 1957 with Angels on Horseback. Since their debut appearance in Punch over forty years ago, Norman Thelwell’s cartoons and drawings have delighted millions of people all over the world. His portrayals of sporting pursuits, human beings at play, the life of the countryside and, of course, ponies, are the products of a unique comic genius.